More on-line comics making their way into the world on dead trees! Kazu Kibuishi (well-known as the editor of the Flight series of fantasy anthologies) has brought out his full-color on-line comic Copper in book form, available this January in softcover or hardcover from Graphix. From the publisher’s notes at Amazon.com: “Copper is curious, Fred is fearful. And together boy and dog are off on a series of adventures through marvelous worlds, powered by Copper’s limitless enthusiasm and imagination. Each Copper and Fred story in this graphic novel collection is a complete vignette, filled with richly detailed settings and told with a wry sense of humor. These two enormously likable characters build ships and planes to travel to surprising destinations and have a knack for getting into all sorts of odd situations. Copper’s good cheer always smoothes the way—and Fred can usually be won over if there’s food involved.”
Dogs
Squirrel!
Furry fans all know that the real break-out star of Disney-Pixar’s summer smash film, Up, was Dug the dog. For heaven’s sake, he’s got his own Facebook page! Now Dug and his pack of servant dogs, all fitted with their high-tech talking collars, find themselves starring in Dug’s Special Mission, a new CGI short film that will accompany Up on the new DVD and Blue-Ray release. Directed by Ronnie Del Carmen (who worked in the story department on Up), this new short tells the story of what happened right before Dug met Carl Fredricksen and intrepid explorer Russell… when Dug, on his birthday, is wishing for a new master who would be less cruel and maniacal than the one he had before. Dug himself, of course, is voiced again by Up co-director Bob Peterson. The new DVD/Blue-Ray will be available November 10th.
Dug, dog. He just met you, and already he loves you.
Berke Breathed’s First Illustrated Novel
Berkeley Breathed, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Bloom County and Outland, has given us his first illustrated novel. Flawed Dogs — The Shocking Raid on Westminster is “a heartwarming and humorous ode to the unconditional and lasting love that we and our pets share”. This is from the publisher: “Sam the Lion is actually a priceless dachshund, bred to be a show dog. More important, he is Heidy’s best friend—and she needs one like never before. Living with her reclusive uncle is hard, but Sam has a way of making her feel soft and whole. Until the day Sam is framed by the jealous poodle Cassius, and is cast out by Heidy’s uncle, alone on the wild streets, where he is roughed up by a world he was not bred for. Sporting a soup ladle for a leg, Sam befriends other abandoned dogs and journeys all the way to the Westminster Dog Show, where his plan for revenge on Cassius takes an unexpected turn when he and Heidy spot each other after years of being apart.” The book is available in hardcover this September from Philomel.
Beasts of Burden
We can’t top this, so we’ll just reprint it (from the official Dark Horse Comics press release): “When supernatural occurrences sweep the community of Burden Hill, it’s up to a heroic gang of cats and dogs to keep the residents safe from harm. A bizarre disturbance leads these four-legged neighbors on a wild goose chase into the depths of the nearby forest, where loyalties are tested and lives come to an abrupt end”. Beasts of Burden is a new full-color four-issue comic book miniseries brought to us by the award-winning creators Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) and released, of course, by Dark Horse this September.
